Photocathodes are key elements in high-brightness electron sources and ubiquitous in the operation of large-scale accelerators. In this work, we propose the use of ultrafast laser nanostructuring techniques on copper photocathodes as a way to enhance the quantum efficiency of metallic photocathodes and enable their use in next-generation electron photoinjectors. When the surface is nanoengineered with patterns and particles much smaller than the optical wavelength, it can lead to the excitation of localized surface plasmons that produce hot electrons, ultimately contributing to the overall charge produced. To quantify the performance of laser nanopatterned photocathodes, we measured their quantum efficiency in a typical electron gun setup. Our experimental results suggest that plasmon-induced hot electrons lead to a significant increase in quantum efficiency, showing an overall charge enhancement factor of at least 4.5 and up to 25. We demonstrate laser nanopatterned plasmonic photocathodes outperform standard metallic photocathodes, and can be directly produced in-situ at the electron gun level in vacuum environments and without any disruptive intervention.
Laser-processing the inner surfaces of 15 m long vacuum pipes installed in the LHC aims to create a nanostructured functional surface with low Secondary Electron Yield (SEY). The experimental system to treat the vacuum pipes in-situ, including a 532 nm picosecond-laser, a 15 m long optical fiber, and an inchworm robot, will be presented. The laser-induced generation of micro- and nanostructures reduces the SEY of the surface. To optimize the surface treatment, the processing parameters were varied, and different scanning patterns applied. The variation in ablation depth, surface topography and composition correlate well with changes of the SEY.
The texturing of copper surfaces with ultrashort laser pulses leads to microscopic groove formation but results also in nanostructure development at the surface. Both structure types, micro- and nanostructures, are influenced by the laser processing parameters such as the laser power, the scanning speed, the repetition rate, and the line spacing. The generated nanostructures determine mainly the macroscopic properties of the laser-modified copper surface such as the optical reflectivity as well as the secondary electron yield (SEY). To study these effects, polycrystalline copper surfaces were irradiated with infrared picosecond laser radiation (wavelength of 1064 nm, pulse duration of 12 ps, repetition rate of 100 kHz and 1 MHz, respectively) and the secondary electron yield, as well as morphology and shape of the formed nanostructures were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The impact of the laser processing parameters on morphology and SEY show the effect of the nanostructures. From these correlations, the reduction of the SEY with increasing accumulated laser fluence and decreasing scanning speed has been identified as a general trend. Especially at high laser power (< 1.9 W) and low scanning speed (< 20 mm/s), the irradiation leads to the formation of compact nanostructures that results in surfaces with a SEY maximum as low as 0.7. SEY values lower than unity are interesting for practical applications of SEY reduction in particle accelerators. Fast processing is necessary to fulfil the technical and technological demands of the deployment and the fabrication of advanced accelerator components. Based on the results, a productivity of ~ 110 s/cm² for SEY ≤ 1 can be estimated at a laser power of 15 W.
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